The 100th anniversary of the dedication of Firestone Stadium will be celebrated by the City of Akron on Saturday, June 14, with a parade, food trucks, live entertainment and featured softball games from noon to 9 p.m.
The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. from Firestone Park Community Center (1480 Girard St.) and will travel along Firestone Boulevard, ending at the stadium. Admission is free.
Firestone Stadium was dedicated on July 18, 1925, by Firestone Tire and Rubber founder Harvey S. Firestone Sr. It was also referred to as Firestone Field and the Firestone “Bowl.”
The stadium was initially built for the company’s baseball league teams, which consisted of 27 departmental leagues and its varsity team, the Non-Skids.
A July 15, 1925, Akron Beacon Journal article said the stadium’s opening “marked another long step forward in the development of industrial athletics in Akron.” It was also considered one of the largest and best industrial fields in the country, according to another article from April 24, 1925.
The complex included two diamonds, one in front of the concrete and steel grandstand used for regular games and a back field exclusively for Firestone league games.
Three games were played by Firestone departmental teams the day of the dedication: Mechanicals versus General Office; Department 218 versus Department 18; and Steel Products versus Department 17B.
The following day, the Firestone varsity team, the Non-Skids, beat the Goodyear Wingfoots at the new stadium.
On July 23, 1925, the Non-Skids lost 12-0 against the Cincinnati Reds in an exhibition game held at the stadium. The Firestone team also played other amateur industrial teams such as the Grennan Cakes of Cleveland and the Whitehead Kales of Detroit.
Stadium hosts a diverse group of teams, leagues and tournaments
A June 14, 1998, Akron Beacon Journal article said that the stadium was used strictly for baseball until the 1930s. Fast-pitch softball was then introduced, and slow-pitch softball games were later hosted there beginning in the 1970s.
The stadium also hosted other non-Firestone teams and leagues. In 1964, the Ohio Black Invitational Softball Tournament moved to Firestone Stadium from Elizabeth Park, where it had been held the first four years. According to an Aug. 16, 1985, Akron Beacon Journal article, the tournament was founded by Geroge Davis and was Ohio’s first Black state softball tournament.
The 4,576-seat stadium was donated to the City of Akron in 1988, a year after Firestone Tire & Rubber moved its headquarters to Chicago. The Akron Amateur Softball Hall of Fame opened in 1990 in the lower level of the stadium, behind the third base dugout.
Firestone Stadium became the home of the Akron Racers beginning in 1999. A year prior, the city spent $2.5 million on renovations, which made it one of the best stadiums used by a team in the Women’s Pro Softball League.
The stadium has hosted the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s state softball tournament since 2008, the annual Mid-American Conference (MAC) Softball Tournament from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2008 to 2019.The MAC Tournament returned to Akron in 2022.
June 14 game schedule at Firestone Stadium
12:30 p.m. – National Anthem with Honor Guard
12:45-1:45 p.m. – Silver League vs. Babes of 1918, 75 and over
2-3 p.m. – Senior Women’s All-Stars, 60 and over
3:15-4:15 p.m. – Akron Police vs. Akron Fire, Battle of the Badges
4:30-5:30p.m. – Silver League All-Stars, 65 and over
6:15-7:45p.m. – High school girl’s all-star game, fast pitch